Natalie Portman News

Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts (www.usdan.com), the nationally acclaimed summer arts day camp which has just finished its 45th successful season, announces the first of its Open Houses for the 2013 season. It will take place on Sunday October 28 from 11AM to 2PM. In addition to the Center's frequent Open House dates, Usdan also offers individual weekend guided tours available by appointment. Weekday self-guided walks are also available on the Center's magnificent 200-acre woodland campus at 185 Colonial Springs Road, Wheatley Heights (Huntington), New York 11798.

Presented by 4Hawk Productions and The Neboya Collective, The Austin Pendleton Project: Where The Work Is is a documentary film currently in production.

Z2 Entertainment will present Never Shout Never with William Beckett, Anarbor & Me Like Bees at the Fox Theatre on Saturday, December 8th. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Tuesday, September 25th for $20.00 in advance and $22.00 day of show.

November 12th will see the release of 'Live Kisses' - a stunning 13-song film, directed by Jonas Åkerlund, that captures the magic of an extraordinary evening in February of this year. In the intimate surroundings of Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, where Paul recorded much of his 'Kisses On The Bottom' album, he was reunited with the all-star musicians who joined him on the record to bring the songs to life for a once in a lifetime performance.

Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts (www.usdan.com), the nationally acclaimed summer arts day camp, will present its sixth annual Usdan Chess Challenge today, September 23 at its specially designed Maurice B. Hexter Chess Center on Long Island. Open to grades K-12, the tournament is US Chess Federation-rated, and will be directed by Usdan Chess Instructors Brian Karen (a USCF and FIDE Expert) and Joel Salman (a USCF and FIDE Master).

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) opens its fall season of monthly networking panels with Can the American Theater Afford to Develop New Work? (Can It Afford Not to?), tonight, September 19, 2012 at 7:30pm at The Players Theatre's Steve & Marie Sgouros Theatre, 3rd floor, 115 MacDougal Street, NYC. Doors open at 7:00pm for networking and refreshments, panel starts promptly at 7:30pm.

Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Clive Owen has been selected to narrate the groundbreaking new television series from FOX Sports Media Group, BEING: LIVERPOOL.

Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Clive Owen has been selected to narrate the groundbreaking new television series from FOX Sports Media Group, BEING: LIVERPOOL.

The first onset video has been released for THOR: THE DARK WORLD, due out on November 8, 2013!

In a unique special event created for Toronto International Film Festival audiences, Reitman directed a live stage reading of Alan Ball's screenplay for American Beauty. Sam Mendes' film about a family man's resplendent mid-life crisis premiered in Toronto in 1999 and went on to win five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay. The one-night-only performance included Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Woody Harrelson, Adam Driver, Sarah Gadon, Nick Kroll, Mae Whitman and George Stroumboulopoulos. Check out photos from the event below!

Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, a TimeOutNY/Kids "Best Camp for 2012" which has just completed its 45th season, will present a special off-season event, An Afternoon With Jane Monheit, performances by the internationally acclaimed jazz singer and Usdan alumna, on Saturday October 14. The Grammy-nominated vocalist will perform two 75-minute concerts with her band, at 2 PM and then a repeat performance at 4:30 PM at Usdan's intimate Maurice B. Hexter Recital Hall.

According to a tentative schedule provided by a source to CNN, actresses Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman and Kerry Washington are set to speak at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC.

Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts (www.usdan.com) will present its sixth annual Usdan Chess Challenge on Sunday September 23 at its specially designed Maurice B. Hexter Chess Center on Long Island. Open to grades K-12, the tournament is US Chess Federation-rated, and will be directed by Usdan Chess Instructors Brian Karen (a USCF and FIDE Expert) and Joel Salman (a USCF and FIDE Master).

The first film to be announced is the Natalie Portman starrer JANE GOT A GUN, to be directed by Lynne Ramsay (WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN) from a script by Brian Duffield.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) opens its fall season of monthly networking panels with Can the American Theater Afford to Develop New Work? (Can It Afford Not to?), on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 7:30pm at The Players Theatre's Steve & Marie Sgouros Theatre, 3rd floor, 115 MacDougal Street, NYC. Doors open at 7:00pm for networking and refreshments, panel starts promptly at 7:30pm.

A Co-Production between Arizona Theatre Company and San Jose Repertory Theatre, Next to Normal will open September 15 in Tucson. The show will feature the talents of Joe Cassidy, Kendra Kassebaum, Mark Farrell, A.J. Holmes, Andrea Ross, and Jonathan Shew.

Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts (www.usdan.com), the nationally acclaimed summer arts day camp, will present its sixth annual Usdan Chess Challenge on Sunday September 23 at its specially designed Maurice B. Hexter Chess Center on Long Island. Open to grades K-12, the tournament is US Chess Federation-rated, and will be directed by Usdan Chess Instructors Brian Karen (a USCF and FIDE Expert) and Joel Salman (a USCF and FIDE Master).

Everyone Matters officially announced the launch of its "big-tent" inclusiveness and equality online and in-school campaign, bringing together global celebrities and organizations under a joint banner to "Open your heart to everyone's differences."

EW reports that Edward Norton will lend his voice in an upcoming episode of FOX's long-running animated comedy THE SIMPSONS.